End of Eternity
by Kowaiki
Summary: Sequel to Keys of Destiny. Kingdom Hearts beckons with a silent cry. Strange things are occuring everywhere. Riku, Sora and Roxas must find the end of eternity for their own very existence. On Hiatus  for details see Hiatus notice
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts 2. All the characters belong to Disney and Square-Enix.

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End of Eternity 

Chapter 1

A chilly evening breeze woke Riku from his afternoon nap. The sun had long sunk below the horizon. Night was coming sooner day by day as it drew closer to winter. Though it had gotten cold lately, Riku liked sleeping on the beach of his hometown. The gentle sound of the waves washing up and down the seashore always gave him peace of mind.

Dusting the sand off his clothes, Riku began to make his way home. The streets were empty. On the contrary, nearly all the household lights were lit as families gather together for dinner. Eventually, Riku came to the street where Sora's house was. He had to walk past Sora's street on his way home. Not that he expected to find his friend on the street, Riku took a glance into the street. In the faint streetlight, he spotted a familiar figure coming out to the main street.

"Kairi?" Riku called to his friend.

"Riku!" Kairi quickened her walking pace to join him. "What are you doing out here on the street at this time of the day? Been sleeping on the beach again?" she grinned.

"That's my line," Riku returned her a brief smile. "You went to check on Sora? He's not home again, is he?"

Kairi shook her head. "His mum is worried about him too. I wonder where he has gone this time…" She turned her gaze towards the sea. The cool evening wind blew her long red hair behind her. "It's been a whole year, Riku, ever since Roxas and Namine left. We all thought time would heal it, but… The Sora I know is full of energy. He would laugh and act silly. I miss him so much."

Riku was unaware that Kairi was watching him as she mentioned Namine. "To Sora, Roxas and Namine are his friends," Riku said. "What he is doing now is like what he did three years ago. He went looking for you and me when we were separated. He is probably searching for them without actually realising."

"Searching…" Kairi murmured.

They stood in silence for a while before Kairi suddenly spoke again. "Hey Riku," Riku looked down to her, who was a head shorter. For some reason, she looked a little nervous. "Do you ever think about…"

"Think about…?" Riku raised an eyebrow. He tried to look at her expression but Kairi was staring at her own shoes.

"Well, about Na-"

Before she could finish the sentence, they both felt it. An invisible shockwave washed over them, interrupting the steady beat of their hearts. It was brief, perhaps less than a second. It wasn't a painful sensation, but it was overwhelming. An image formed in their mind – Kingdom Hearts.

Riku and Kairi looked at each other. Riku could see the fear in her sea-blue eyes. He wondered if his eyes were showing the same thing. They both knew something had happened to the heart of all worlds.

"Could it be…Sora?" Kairi looked at Riku in the eyes, waiting for an answer.

Riku put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'll go find out what it is. You stay here," his feet were already carrying him towards the where the gummi ship was parked.

"No Riku, I'm going with you! There's no way you're leaving me behind again," Kairi protested, running after him.

"Kairi-"

"I'm sick of waiting for you two to return. Do you think it's fun to be the one that gets left behind all the time?" Kairi put her hands on her hip. "I know I may be a burden, but I'll do my best not to get in the way. I'm coming with you not matter what," she finished resolutely.

Knowing Kairi was serious, Riku had a thought. "Sora!?" he suddenly looked to his right. Just as Kairi turned her head around, he lightly hit the back of her neck with the side of his hand. He gently caught her as she passed out.

"Sorry Kairi," Riku said to the unconscious girl. "It's not that Sora and I don't want you with us. We are just afraid we won't be able protect you against whatever we may face."

Utilising as many warp holes as possible, it took Riku a little over a day to reach Kingdom Hearts. The drive was relatively peaceful comparing to three years ago; he encountered very few heartles' and nobodies on the way. A little over a year ago, the heart of all worlds was damaged in a great battle. While the gigantic heart mended itself, the little king of Disney Castle – King Mickey – put up a magical barrier around the heart so no one with the intention of harming it could go near. The King had also constructed a small tower beneath Kingdom Hearts when he placed the barrier. After parking his gummi ship beneath the tower, Riku went up the tower.

At the top of the tower, the gigantic Kingdom Hearts floated high above, defying gravity. The tower was about the same size as the one in the Castle That Never Was, where everyone gathered before the final battle. Battlements were placed around the edge for safety reasons. In front of Riku was a stone door he had never seen before. It was covered in green moss and vines. There was no keyhole on it. Silently summoning up his keyblade, Riku pointed it to the door.

It didn't respond to the call of Road to the Dawn. Riku slammed a fist on its hard stone surface in despair. "Where are you, Sora?"

"You are acquainted with the wielder of light?" A woman's crisp voice came from behind.

Riku spun around immediately. A young woman stood in the mouth of the stairway he came up from. Judging from her appearance, she wasn't much older than Kairi, a year or two the most. She was slightly shorter than Riku. What stood out about her was her hair colour. It was the most unusual colour Riku had ever seen. It was ocean blue and just long enough to touch her shoulders. She wore a lightly armored, cream-colour outfit with gold trim.

"That can only be opened by Sora. Where is he?" the young woman said, examining the door from a distance.

"Who are you?" Riku demanded. He didn't like the fact she could get so close without him noticing a thing. At first, he considered she could be a nobody. But she didn't have the smell of darkness on her that the organisation members had.

The young woman didn't respond to Riku's hostility. Her expression remained neutral. "Where is Sora?"

"Shouldn't the one to ask identify herself first?" Riku snapped. He closely watched her every movement in case she were to attempt something drastic.

She stared at his face for a short moment before answering. "I am Zenith, Maintainer Zenith."

"Maintainer?" Riku mumbled the word to himself. He hadn't heard of such thing. "Why are you looking for Sora?" he asked.

Glancing up to Kingdom Hearts, Zenith slowly spoke. "Sora has made the choice. He must be stopped, or otherwise…" she paused. "We won't let it happen. Now, tell me where Sora is."

"What is that choice that you said Sora made?" asked Riku. He was getting a very bad feeling as they talked. All of a sudden, the ringtone of a phone sounded, suspending their conversation.

Taking out the ringing phone from her pocket, Zenith flipped it open and put it to her ears. "It's me," she answered the call. "No, he's already gone when I came." Riku watched as she listened to the person on the other end. "I understand. I'll go there now."

Putting away her phone, Zenith turned back to Riku. "If you find Sora, stop him." Before Riku could say anything back, she stepped up on the railing and jumped down. Following that came a quacking style yelp from below that sounded awfully like a particular duck.

"Hey wait!" Riku ran to the edge of the tower and looked down to the where she jumped. The height wasn't something anyone could simply leap down without hesitation. He was in time to see her started the engine of her Flyer, a light-weighted aerial craft that resembled the one he and Sora used to fight Zenmas' enormous dragon nobody. King Mickey, Goofy and Donald, who had just arrived at the tower, saw her off with a stunned expression on their faces.

"Your majesty!" Riku called. As soon as the King saw Riku, he quickly made his way up, followed by his trusty general and magician.

When the three arrived at the top, Riku noticed the King noted the presence of the stone door, but went up to him before examining it further. "Did you sense it too, Riku? That something occurred to Kingdom Hearts?" the King questioned.

Riku nodded. "But when I arrived there was nothing out of the ordinary…except this door and that woman."

"Who was that young lady? She seemed like she was in a hurry didn't she?" Goofy asked.

"I bet she did something horrible she didn't want us to catch her. So she fled as soon as she saw us," Donald folded his arms, looking cranky.

"Just because she scared you unintentionally-"

"Oh be quiet Goofy!" Donald interrupted him.

"Donald, Goofy," the King's risen voice silent the two instantly. "Let's listen to what Riku has to tell us."

Riku told them how he met Zenith and the things she said. Donald and Goofy exchanged worry glances to each other. The King frowned when he heard the part about Maintainer and Sora's choice. "Do you know Sora's whereabouts, your majesty? Can you open the door over there? And what is a Maintainer?" Riku asked.

King Mickey shook his head. "I'm sorry. Regrettably I do not know the answers to any of your questions, Riku. As with that door, I'm afraid it is just as Zenith said, it can only be opened by Sora. However, what I know is we must do now is to find Sora."

"My thoughts exactly," Riku agreed. "I can leave right away."

"Hold on Riku, Donald and Goofy shall accompany you. Find Sora and ask him what is going on. I'm going back to Disney Castle to look up as much as I can about the Maintainers," the King told him.

Surprised by the arrangement, Riku thought about saying something, but couldn't decide what to.

"What's wrong, Riku?" King Mickey asked. "You have the gummi ship Sora used before don't you? It should fit the three of you."

"Not used to having company?" Donald teased when he saw the look on Riku's face.

Riku smiled. "May be not the loud and noisy sort." Goofy and King Mickey laughed while Donald protested.

"But your majesty, this mean we're going to be separated again," said a concerned Goofy.

"No need to worry, I will join you as soon as I finish with the business at Disney Castle," the King reassured. He turned to Riku. "You have a lot on your mind, don't you Riku?"

"I guess it's useless to try hide anything from you, your majesty. It is ironic isn't it? Two years ago, Sora and his sidekicks were looking all over for me. Now it's the other way around," said Riku. "Your majesty, do you still believe in Sora?"

Gasping at the question, Donald and Goofy looked to their King.

After parting with the King, Riku, Donald and Goofy decided to look for Sora at the nearest world to Kingdom Hearts – Beast Castle. As soon as they got off the gummi ship, they headed for the castle entrance. A few heartlesses attempted to ambush them as they cross the castle bridge but were no match to the three. Ever since the incidence that occurred three yeas ago, the number of heartlesses and nobodies greatly decline. However, their number appeared to be on the raise again.

The place was different to how it once was. Statues placed around the castle were no longer ones of frightening creatures. The creepy and dark atmosphere was completely gone. "This is strange," Donald mumbled, knocking on the tall front door. The three stood and waited. No one came. Donald knocked again. He was not as patient as the time before. Still, no one came. Annoyed they were being ignored, Donald readied himself to charge at the door. Just as he did so, Riku pushed it open, causing Donald to run straight through and crashed into someone inside.

Riku and Goofy followed Donald in. The castle seemed to be in a state of panic. Maids and servants were running around in every direction. No one was paid particular attention to their arrival. Donald apparently crashed into a chubby-looking man. They were both sprawled out on the carpeted floor.

"Are you two ok?" Goofy went up to the two.

The chubby man groaned, rubbing his sore back as he stood upright. "Donald, Goofy?" he said in surprise when he noticed who was in front of him.

"Have we met?" Goofy asked the man. His voice was somewhat familiar.

"It's me, Cogsworth!" the man replied.

"But the Cogsworth we know is a clock," Goofy scratched his head as if to confirm his own memory.

"We all turned back to human after the witch's curse on the castle was lifted," Cogsworth explained. "Ah, I wish you came at a better time though. So we can welcome our guests properly."

"What is going on? Why is everyone panicking?" Riku asked.

Goofy introduced Riku to Cogsworth. "It is terrible," Cogsworth sighed miserably. "Mistress Belle fell unconscious since this morning. One of our maids reported she spotted a suspicious person in the garden. The prince ordered the entire castle to look for that person. No one is allowed to rest until we do."

"Can we see her?" Riku asked. Donald and Goofy nodded earnestly in agreement.

"Certainly!" Cogsworth looked delighted. "This way please," he gestured.

Riku, Donald and Goofy followed him to the East side of the castle, where Belle's room was. Cogsworth straightened himself before knocking on the bedroom door. "Master, it is me, Cogsworth. I brought with me some guests who would like to visit Mistress Belle. May we enter?"

Expecting to hear a roaring reply from Beast, Donald plucked his ears. Instead, a weak voice answered from the other side. "Come in."

"Master's temper has improved a lot since he turned back into human," Cogsworth whispered to the three before entering the bedroom.

In the middle of the room was a large bed, with Belle – one of the seven princesses of light - resting in it. To Riku, she looked like she was only asleep. A man dressed in fine clothes sat by her bedside, holding her hand. His face brightened when he saw his guests. "Donald, Goofy!" he greeted them joyously.

"You are Beast?" Donald asked doubtfully.

The man chuckled, "Yes, and no. I am a beast no more. What brought you three here? And this is…?" The prince asked, referring to Riku.

"This is our friend, Riku," Goofy explained. "We came looking for Sora. Have you seen him?"

"No I haven't," the prince answered.

"What happened to Belle?" Donald asked. He touched her cheek and was shocked to find it cold as ice.

"I want to know too," the prince said miserably. "I had the doctor look at her. There is no sign of external wound at all. It seems like she ran into some stranger in the garden this morning. I ordered the whole castle to look for that person." He looked down to Belle, "I don't care about anything else. I just want Belle back."

"Her heart has been taken," Riku said quietly. The princess' condition was exactly the same as Kairi's when her heart left her body three years ago.

The door burst open. A skinny man rushed into Belle's room. "Master!" he cried. His face brightened just like the prince when he saw Donald and Goofy. "Donald! Goofy!"

"What's the matter, Lumiere?" the prince asked, frowning deeply.

"That's Lumiere?" Donald and Goofy said in unison.

"Please excuse my intrusion. A suspicious person was sighted outside the castle gates!" the butler reported.

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**Author's note: **Well I'm back from a long break in writing. With II Final Mix and Re:CoM beatened, I have decided to give this sequel a shot. Please review as always! 

I have watched the new secret ending in KHII FM and is aware of how bizzarre it is. This story will not attempt to relate to it. Therefore if Zenith's description somewhat resembles a certain blue-hair character; they're totally different people.


	2. Chapter 2

End of Eternity

Chapter 2

The old forest beyond the castle gates was a natural maze. Overgrown trees covered the sky, blocking out most of the sunlight. If it weren't for the single road that connected the castle to the village, it would be impossible to find a way through without getting lost. In the hope of finding the suspicious figure before the castle people alert him or her of their presence, Riku rushed out ahead of the others. Riku melted into the forest as soon as he went past the gates. The days he spent as "Ansem" made him used to avoiding being seen. He picked a tall tree and started climbing up on it skilfully. Doing so brought back a chain of memories. When they were little, he and Sora used to climb up the coconut trees in Destiny Islands. They had tried stealing seagull eggs without getting pecked by the parent seagulls, hitting each other with coconuts, and all sorts of other childhood silliness.

The sound of the castle people drawing near snapped Riku out of his thoughts. He climbed until he was overlooking the other trees. It was a clear day with not a cloud in the sky. Standing on a firm branch, Riku scanned the surrounding. The height gave him an advantage to see further than he otherwise would if he stood on the ground. Though the trees hide it well, Riku was able to see with his keen eyes the gummi ship at where they left it. He looked back to the source of the noises. A group of maids and servants were coming out from the castle, armed with garden spades and shovels.

A tiny movement caught Riku's eyes. It was a fair distance away but it looked like a person. Jumping from tree to tree, he hurried towards that direction. As he gained on that person, it became more apparent whom he was chasing after. Riku thought he might well have used up all the luck he had in his life. "Sora!" he called out. Sora halted and turned around. When he looked up and found Riku, Sora broke into a run.

"Wait, Sora!" Riku called and began chasing after him. Sora continued running as if he didn't hear.

Hastening his speed, Riku jumped off a tree and landed directly in front of Sora. "Sora, you've never beaten me in a race and you're not going to today," Riku remarked, smirking like he used to whenever he beat Sora in any sort of competition.

Sora didn't appear to be in the same mood as he. He attempted to get pass but Riku blocked his way. "What are you doing, Sora? Why are you here?"

"Riku," Sora's cerulean gaze met his. It was hard and determined. "Let me through."

Not intending to back down, Riku returned the glare. "Do you have any idea what is going on? The princess of light in this world had her heart stolen. We don't know who did it."

"Belle?" Sora took a step back, appeared quite shocked. "Maintainers…?" he said under his breath.

Riku's eyes widened. "What did you say?"

The noise of the people from the castle grew louder. "Sorry Riku!" Riku heard Sora say. Following it was a bolt of lightning struck way too close to his liking. It missed him narrowly. Though it was only brief moment, his reflexes instinctively told him to jump away, allowing Sora through.

Giving himself a mental kick for his own carelessness, Riku went after Sora. It was much more difficult to follow Sora on the ground, but Riku couldn't risk loosing sight of him by taking time to climb up high again. They ducked down branches, jumped over larger plants and scared away small animals as they roam through the forest.

"Don't come after me, Riku!" Sora yelled when he noticed Riku was following.

"Then tell me what is going on," Riku answered. Soon he caught the glimpse of Yen Sid's gummi ship parked on a small clearing ahead of them.

With the hatch already opened, Sora jumped into the Magus Hat lightly. Riku could see the hatch lowering as he was getting closer. It shut completely just when he reached the ship. The ship slowly rose into the air. Out of desperation, Riku grabbed hold onto the edge of the ship. The ship lifted him off the ground, carrying him into the open sky.

Horrified to see Riku dangling from the gummi ship, Sora opened up the hatch. "RIKU YOU'RE CRAZY!" he yelled, reaching out to his best friend. Riku clasped his hand tightly on Sora's, allowing himself to be pulled into the small vessel.

People and trees grew smaller as the gummi ship took them high into the sky. Ascending at full speed, the Magus Hat soon carried them away from Beast Castle and back into soundless space. Riku watched as Sora input sequential commands into the control panel to enable automatic piloting. "You coming wasn't part of the plan," Sora grumbled as he hit the panel keys. Sora keyboarding skills didn't seem to have improved much since visiting the Space Paranoid world. He was still slow and clumsy.

Riku took a glance behind. The old gummi ship was tailing behind them. It meant Donald and Goofy were following along. "What was part of the plan, Sora? Why did you have to run away from us?"

"There is something I have to do," Sora looked into the space ahead. "I can't let anyone stop me."

Knowing he wouldn't be able to ask anything more from Sora, Riku sank back into his "seat", which was really a tight storage space behind the pilot's seat. Oddly, he had a feeling that he forgot something important but he couldn't figure out what it was. It didn't take long before the next world was within view. The world they have come to was a huge garden. Its surface was covered in dark green grass. Riku remembered this particular world was called Wonderland. It was one he wasn't familiar with.

The Magus Hat landed lightly on levelled ground cleared of trees. The old gummi ship was preparing for landing. Riku took a good look at their current location. They were surrounded by many strangely shaped hedges.

A white rabbit carrying a pocket watch came out of nowhere. "Oh no! I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late!" the rabbit said breathlessly, sweat pouring from its furry forehead. It ran off as quickly as it came. A moment later, a blond haired girl in blue dress came running from where the rabbit appeared.

"Alice!" Sora called her.

"Sora?" Alice said in surprise. She looked genuinely happy to see him. "Wow, Sora you have grown so tall," she exclaimed as she measured herself against him.

"Hey listen Alice," Sora's smile changed into a serious face. "Has anything strange happened to this world? Like, have you seen any strangers around?"

"No, Sora. Why?" Alice asked, her face filled with curiosity.

"It's nothing," Sora shook his head. "But, can you do something for me? See there?" he pointed to a large hollow in a nearby mushroom. "Can you hide yourself there until I come back?"

Putting a finger under her chin, the blonde hair girl considered the request for a moment. "Well I suppose I can," she shrugged. "But you have to tell me the reason when you return. And come back soon ok?"

"Thanks Alice, I will," Sora nodded gratefully. He turned around, heading deep into the garden.

Riku went after Sora after asking Goofy and Donald to stay behind with Alice. As they were shrunk all to the size of ants when they entered this world, the plants were humongous to them. There were flowers as tall as streetlights and mushrooms the size of trees. Sora had taken out his keyblade. He walked in a steady pace whilst keeping a constant eye on Ultima Weapon. Suddenly, Sora stopped in his tracks, staring at his keyblade. Riku, too, stopped to look. But he couldn't find anything different about it. It wasn't shining, shaking or anything. Riku watched as the keyblade revealed a new keyhole in the air. To his surprise, the keyhole did not reveal a door. Instead, it expanded. Straight lines shot out symmetrically, joining together and formed into a black diamond-shaped gem. Two separate rings span around the gem. Looking at it closely, Riku realised one ring was the symbol of heartless and the other was they symbol of nobody. Gold words emerged on the surfaced of the gem, shining brilliantly. Just when Riku was about to ask what it was, Sora went up to the floating gem and sliced it diagonally across with his keyblade. As soon as he did so, he jumped back to put distance between himself and it. Being cut in halves, the rings fell down and dissolved in the air before they hit the ground. A large crack ran on the surface of the gem along where Sora cut it. A strong scent of darkness poured out from it. It was none like the darkness Riku had previously come across. It was denser and more daunting than the darkness that surrounded Maleficent and Xemnas.

"Get back, Riku!" Sora warned. Riku quickly launched himself backwards, moving away from the shattering gem.

Starting from the bottom, the gem shattered. The fragments dissolved in the air before they could touch the ground. In moment, the gem completely vanished just like it had never been there. "What was that thing?" Riku asked Sora, who didn't answer. The remaining dark scent lingered around Riku but for some reason, he knew it wouldn't harm him.

All of a sudden, they heard a loud explosion coming from where they left their gummi ship. It was also where they left their friends. "Donald, Goofy, Alice!" Sora gasped in shock. Together, Riku and Sora backtracked as fast as they could go.

Though they half expected it, Riku and Sora were still shaken to find the entire area in ruins. The huge flowers fell limp and lifeless on the ground as though a tornado came past. Mushrooms and grass were reduced to ashes, leaving a burning smell in the air. The only things that seemed to withstand the fire were the gummi ships.

Alice was lying on the ground, appearing unconscious. Donald and Goofy were partially buried under the fallen plants. Sora rushed to Alice's side. "Alice!" She wouldn't respond no matter how many times he called her name.

"Stop it, Sora!" Sora froze at Riku's words. He didn't realise how hard he was shaking her.

"Poor, poor Alice, having her heart taken away," Riku heard a lenient voice speak. A pink and purple striped cat appeared out of nowhere, sitting on a good tree. "Poor plants."

"Cheshire Cat!" Sora exclaimed as he placed Alice down carefully. Just as he stood up, he swayed forward.

"Sora?!" Riku called out.

Sora dropped down on one knee, using the keyblade for support. It looked to Riku that if he weren't holding the keyblade, he would've fallen on all fours.

Sora put a hand on his forehead. "I'm fine," he told Riku, turning to the Cheshire Cat. "What happened?" Sora asked the feline. Donald and Goofy stirred awake. They sprung up and looked around frantically. Their hopeful faces diminished in dismay when they saw Alice's condition.

"Pretty blue-hair girl came along and took Alice's heart. Your friends only lasted seconds against her before they were knocked out," said the Cheshire Cat, a huge grin was plastered on its diamond-shaped face.

"We were taken by surprise!" Donald defended angrily. "Riku, Sora…" he and Goofy dropped their heads shamefully.

Then it came to Riku. "Sora, Kairi's in danger!" That was what had been nagging him at the back of his mind. He made the connection when he was at Beast Castle but didn't have time to think clearly about it.

Sora stared at Riku with his mouth agape in realisation. He looked at the ruins of the garden and then at Alice.

"Sora, I don't know what you're doing, but this is Kairi we're talking about. You didn't use to think twice when it came to Kairi. Don't you care about her anymore?" Riku asked, his voice stiff and cold.

Sora turned away, avoiding what he knew would be Riku's piercing aqua glance. "There is…something I have to do."

Hearing his response, Riku went to the old gummi ship.

"Riku! Where are you going?" Goofy ran after the silver haired youth.

Riku sat himself on the pilot seat. "I'm going back to Destiny Island," he answered simply.

"What about Sora?" Donald asked with a big frown, watching Riku as he checked on the condition of each part of the ship via the control panel.

"That's not the Sora I knew," said Riku, looking only at the display on the large monitor in front of him.

Donald looked back and forth at Riku and Sora, unsure about whom to follow.

"Come on, Donald," Goofy beckoned, boarding the ship as he did so. Donald took a last glance at Sora before doing the same. Riku pressed on the button to close the hatch, preparing the ship for takeoff.

"Wait!" yelled Sora before it shut completely. The hatch lowered.

"I'm going too," said Sora, stepping on board. "Back to Destiny Islands."

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**Author's notes: **Many questions are posed in this chapter. What is Sora doing? What does he know? What is the intention behind the stolen hearts? What is a maintainer? What awaits them back on Destiny Islands?

Reviews will be very much appreciated. For those who reviewed the last chapter, thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

End of Eternity

Chapter 3

The old gummi ship traveled steadily on the invisible pathway connecting the worlds. Sora stood at the back of the ship, looking out into the space through the round rear window. "I wonder if Kairi is ok," Sora said when Riku came over. "She's probably really angry right now, if she is."

"You wouldn't be the only one she's angry at, that's for sure," said Riku, thinking about how furious Kairi would be when she wakes up finding he left her behind again. Donald and Goofy seemed to be busily talking about King Mickey up the front than to pay attention to what they were saying.

Sora forced a smile. "I actually want her to yell at me than anything else right now," he sighed.

"Sora, what were you doing back in Wonderland?" Riku asked seriously. There were so many things he wanted to know. "You're not the one who's taking the princesses' hearts. But what are you trying to do?"

Sora clenched his fist. "I'll never let anything happen to Belle, Alice and the others," he said firmly. He turned his head to face Riku without moving the rest of his body. It was the same look he always gave Riku when he was about to ask him something. That alone, hadn't changed. "Riku, what if there is something you think is right, and that you have to do, but the whole world doesn't think so?"

"The whole world?" Riku repeated sceptically. "You'd need to ask every single person to be sure about that."

When Sora was about to say something in return, his face changed into a grimace. Clutching his shirt, he moaned in agony.

Shocked at first, Riku recovered in moments. "What's wrong, Sora?!" All he could see was Sora clutching over the position of his heart. In the past, Sora had always been healthy and energetic. Occasionally he fell sick like everyone did, but Riku had never seen him in such pain. There was no sign of injuries at all.

Donald yelled from the pilot seat. "Riku, Sora! Something isn't right, come over here!" He and Goofy didn't seem to notice what was happening to Sora.

"I'm ok," Sora swallowed and straightened himself. His face was a little pale, but he seemed fine otherwise. "Let's see what Donald has for us."

The front view had been changed from the monitor mode to the window mode, allowing them to look at the outside of the ship. There was nothing but endless space.

"We are supposed to be back to Destiny Island. But look, there is nothing!" Donald explained when Riku and Sora arrived.

Bending down, Riku calmly hit the keys on the control panel. Things had apparently ceased to make sense to him. He was certain that the ship's course was set to Destiny Island. They should be brought back automatically. It was all programmed. He decided to search for the nearest world. The locator picked up a response immediately. Destiny Island was very near.

"Phew, thank goodness we are not lost," Donald wiped his forehead and sank into his seat. Riku took a glimpse at Sora, who looked perfectly fine by then. He wondered if the pain Sora experienced was related to what happened in Wonderland.

It didn't take long after they reset the course that Destiny Island came within view. It was a world made up of vast oceans, making it look like a blue sphere from far away. Riku could already make out the shape of his island. Anxiety built up in his chest. He wished the ship would go faster and take him home a second sooner. It wasn't only Kairi he was worried about. Meanwhile, he couldn't help thinking about the ship's miscalculation, which caused them to arrive at the wrong place. Computers do not usually make mistakes, unless…the world moved.

The gummi ship trembled slightly as it entered the atmosphere. It was nighttime at the island. Before the ship had even landed, Riku saw it. From an aerial view, he could see people were running around on the streets. Clusters of black and white of various sizes were scattered everywhere. Heartlesses. Nobodies.

"Riku!" Sora called. He was already holding his keyblade, waiting impatiently for the hatch to slowly lower so he could dash out. Riku, too, readied himself. They landed at the pier. As soon as they got out, the first thing that hit them was the shouting and cries. The entire island was infested by heartlesses and nobodies. Some were on top of house roofs, some were down at the footpath, and others were straying on the beach. There were crying children who were just standing still, too scared to move. Men and women were calling names of their loved ones. Fright and confusion had driven the island into turmoil. In one swing of his keyblade, Riku eliminated two Shadows heartlesses near them. He scanned the crowd for Kairi. Sora was doing the same.

Sora spotted someone he knew out of the crowd. "Selphie!" he called out and ran towards a brown haired girl, who appeared to be looking for someone in the crowd just like they were.

"Sora, Riku!" Selphie exclaimed. "Where have you guys been? Have you seen Tidus and Wakka?"

"No, we just got back," answered Sora, distressed by the island's situation. "Why are there so many heartlesses and nobodies?!"

"That's what I'd like to know! They just popped out of nowhere since this morning. Everyone is scared and no one knows what to do. We're just trying to stay away from them," she said miserably.

"Selphie, have you seen Kairi?" Riku asked while keeping an eye out for enemies.

Shaking her head, Selphie replied. "Not since yesterday. I'm looking for her as well. Speaking of Kairi, a girl who looked a lot like Kairi asked for your whereabouts not long ago." Riku's heart skipped a beat. Selphie continued, "I thought she was Kairi because of those eyes, but she had blond hair. I didn't know where you were so I told her I didn't know."

"Where is she right now?" Sora asked quickly.

"I don't know. But I think she went over to the hut's direction," Selphie told them. Once Riku and Sora thanked her, they headed for the secret place. Only Riku, Sora and Kairi knew of it. If they were to find a place to hide, it would be the first place that came in mind.

"It is Namine, Riku!" Sora said in excitement as they were running along the beach.

"It can't be," Riku said. He could hear the uncertainty in his own voice. "She can't exist physically. Because…she's a nobody."

"But it has to be her!" Sora insisted. He gasped and stopped when a row of heartlesses of all shapes and sizes suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their way. Riku recognised they were morning stars, sky pirates, operas – all high level heartlesses. Sora turned around to see a row of nobodies, made up of samurais, creepers and berserkers, coming from behind. There were at least twenty of them on each side. Riku and Sora were trapped in the middle. The heartlesses and nobodies were approaching them at an alarming speed. Riku looked at both sides. There was no place to run. There was no choice for them but to fight.

They reached them in seconds. Taking initiative, Riku rushed forward and plunge his keyblade into a berserker. The large nobody swang its huge baton at Riku, who dodged it by ducking down. Instead, the berserker hit the sky pirate behind Riku. The heartless was eliminated before it was able to counter. With his eyes locked on the enemy, Riku prepared for the next attack. But it never came. The berserker picked the next closest heartless and began smashing it with its powerful blows. Stunned, Riku lowered his keyblade and watched.

With skilful timing, Sora interrupted a morning star's spin attack. In the clean strike, he sliced it in half. He had eliminated quite a few heartlesses and nobodies. But for each one he eliminated, two came back.

"Sora, don't attack them!" Riku shouted above the clashing sound of weapons.

Hearing Riku's call, Sora jumped up high, causing a few nobodies to crash into each other instead of into him. "What?" he yelled as if Riku just suggested they should have a picnic right there right then.

"They're not attacking us!" Riku yelled back.

It took Riku and Sora some time but they managed to retreat out of the tangle of berserk heartlesses and nobodies. They both watched in disbelief whilst their previous enemies fought each other heatedly. When Riku thought about it, they never saw any heartlesses or nobodies attacking people. They were fighting each other. It was because the island's people had been attacked years ago they assumed the same thing would happen, that the heartlesses and nobodies would target people.

"Let's find Namine quickly!" Sora urged. When they arrived at the secret place, Sora called into the dark tunnel. "Namine! Are you in there?" They waited for a moment. There was no reply.

"I'll go in," Riku told Sora. He pushed away the obscuring branches and went in. When they were children, they used to be able to enter the tunnel just by bending down slightly. Now that Riku has grown, he really had to crouch down low. The secret place was a natural cave created by the roots of a very old oak tree. Inside it was dark enough during daytime. Now that it was night, Riku could barely make out what was what in front of him. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness by the time he was inside the actual cave. He was able to vaguely see that someone was behind a large root.

"Namine?" Riku asked as he walked closer to that person.

"Riku?" The person stepped out from behind the root. It was who Sora thought to be; it was also who Riku thought he would never see again. Namine ran straight into his arms. Riku was a little surprised by her action at the start, but he then put his arms around her.

"I thought I would never see you again," said Namine, holding onto him tightly.

Wondering if this was illusion or reality, Riku caressed her soft hair. Their meeting was meant to be impossible. Yet she was there. But it didn't matter anymore.

"If this is a dream," Namine said softly. "I wish I can sleep on forever."

Riku pushed her away gently. "Tell me what happened, Namine," he asked. There was so much he wanted to know.

"I'm not sure. I don't know why I am here, or why I can be here. When I woke up, Kairi was already like this. I think it was this man who has taken her heart," said Namine. She took Riku to Kairi, who was "sleeping" like Alice and Belle.

"Man? You sure it wasn't a woman with blue hair?" asked Riku as he kneeled down to check on Kairi.

"I'm sure it was a man. But he had very strange blue coloured hair. He looked a lot like…" Namine paused in hesitation. "No, it's not important." She took a glance over Riku's shoulder. "Did you come by yourself, Riku?"

"I came with Sora," Riku told her. With help from Namine, Riku carried Kairi on his shoulder. It took a great deal of effort but they managed to exit the cave, making Riku wonder how Namine was able to take in Kairi in the first place.

Sora was waiting for them outside. "Namine!" Sora ran to her.

"Sora-" Namine froze when she saw him. Her eyes widened in distress.

"Namine? What's the matter?!" Riku asked urgently, looking back and forth at Sora and Namine. Sora was also taken aback by her reaction.

Namine put a hand over her mouth. "Sora, why are your memories…?"

"Memories…?" Sora said, undoubtedly confused. Unexpectedly, as if he was struck by an invisible jolt, he staggered and winced painfully, dropping his keyblade on the sand.

* * *

**Author's note: **Took me a while to write this, hope you like it. There are still many unanswered questions in the story. We should find some answers in the coming chapter though. So stay with me! 

Sorry that I can't make any promises to post chapters regularly. I've been busy and don't want to make promises I can't keep. But I'll work on the chapters as much as I can. And many thanks for the reviews, you guys are the best. The reviews keep me going.


	4. Chapter 4

End of Eternity

Chapter 4

Reacting immediately, Namine supported Sora to stop him from staggering. "Why? Why have you lost so much of your memories?!"

Sluggishly, Sora lifted up his head to look at Namine's face. Her blue eyes were so pretty. Although right then, they were filled with confusion and fright. "May be this is-" he stopped in mid-sentence, wincing at the pain in his chest.

Sensing the approaching presence of darkness, Riku scanned the surrounding area warily. Heartlesses began to appear around them, occupying the empty beach. The heartlesses moved towards them, as if they were attracted to their presence. "It's not safe here, we have to leave!" Riku told Namine. He gave Kairi to her care and carried Sora. The heartlesses followed them gingerly. They were slow to start with. But, within moments, Riku and Namine were forced into a half run.

The gummi ship was waiting for them back at the pier. They didn't wait until the hatch fully opened before jumping inside. A couple of bookmasters followed them onboard. With his keyblade, Riku knocked them back out before the hatch closed completely.

Donald and Goofy were bewildered when they saw Namine and Sora. "Riku, what happened to-"

"Take off, NOW!" Riku ordered, making them jump in surprise. They started the engine obediently as they were told.

"Riku, what about the people on the island?" Namine asked.

Riku grimaced. Leaving his hometown while it was infested by heartlesses and nobdies was against his will. But he knew that staying there wouldn't be the wisest choice. "The heartlesses and nobodies are not attacking them. They shouldn't be in any immediate danger at the moment," he replied. "How's Sora?"

Namine sat Sora upright so he was in a comfortable position. "He fell asleep. He looked very tired," she said, brushing away several strands of brown hair on his face that were out of place.

Riku watched Sora's sleeping form. His expression was so peaceful when he was asleep. "Namine, you said Sora lost his memories, what is that about? You mean he has forgotten something important?" Riku asked.

"No, we don't ever truly forget things. We don't remember certain memories sometimes because new memories overlap them, making them hard to recall," Namine explained, looking at Sora's sleeping face. "Memories make up the heart. It should be impossible to lose memories. Yet large chunks of Sora's memories have been taken away as if they were taken away by force. I don't understand how this can happen."

"Is there anything you can do about it?" Riku asked, frowning deeply.

Namine lowered her head sadly. "It's true that I can manipulate existing memories and create fake memories. But Sora is missing very important memories that were deeply rooted in his heart. That is why he is so sick right now. Even if I were to help by putting fake memories in his heart, it would take a long time and it wouldn't be sufficient to help him much. If he loses all his memories…" she closed her eyes and opened them again. "His heart will be destroyed. Just like what Marluxia wanted me to do in Castle Oblivion."

"Namine, do you know anything about the maintainers?" Riku asked. Then he told Namine about what happened in Beast's Castle and Wonderland.

"I haven't heard of them. But the man who took Kairi's heart…before he ran off, he said "sorry" to me," said Namine. She turned to Riku with a worried face. "Riku, do you think Sora would betray us?"

"Actually, I asked Mickey the same question," Riku said, looking at her and Sora. "I don't believe Sora would do anything to harm us. Sora is still Sora."

Namine smiled at him. Suddenly, she cringed and held her head. "Don't worry, it's just a headache," Namine told Riku.

Riku studied her face. "Not just a headache. There is a voice in your head telling you to destroy the heartless, isn't there?"

Namine gasped. "How did you know, Riku?"

Riku's guess confirmed his suspicion. Something was sending messages to the heartlesses and nobodies to fight each other. Apparently Namine was able resist it, but the lower level nobodies couldn't. He had a feeling that everything happening around them was somehow connected: the berserk heartlesses and nobodies, the pain Sora was experiencing, and the maintainers.

Without warning, a great force hit the ship, throwing Riku and Namine off their feet.

"The heartlesses are still following us!" Donald yelled. Riku could see a group of heartlesses chasing after them like angry wasps from the rear window. Whatever that hit the ship moments before must have been their doing.

"They're after me," Namine said anxiously.

"Turn around and shoot them!" Riku told Donald and Goofy as he ran over to join them at the cockpit.

"Hold on tight!" As soon as Goofy said that, they span around quickly, throwing a few loose objects inside the ship flying. Some of the heartlesses were slamming themselves against the vessel, others shot at them from a distance. Goofy had to fly the ship around, flipping and turning continuously to avoid getting hit. Riku and Donald were firing at all that were within range. In the midst of battle, a huge explosion hit their ears and shook the ship viciously for a few seconds. The ship shook viciously as the sound of a huge explosion hit their ears. The ship shuddered for a few seconds before stabilising.

"One of the heartless caused an explosion to the engine! We've lost one of the two engines we have!" Goofy reported on the damage.

While Goofy was reporting, he was unaware that a heartless was directly in front of them, preparing to shoot out a deadly beam. "Watch out!" Riku shouted, grabbing the navigation control from Goofy. The ship hurled upwards abruptly, escaping narrowly. Everyone was relieved when they found it out that was the last heartless.

"I thought we were done for," Donald said with a sigh, wiping the sweat on his forehead. "We can't fly far with only one engine. What should we do?" He turned to look at Riku.

"Riku…" Namine said softly, looking at Riku as well.

Realising that they were all waiting for him to say something, Riku ran a hand through his silver hair, trying to think straight. Although no one was hurt, the ship had tilted to the side with the remaining engine. He had doubts whether it was still safe to fly. Taking a glance outside, he was surprise by what he saw. They had come to another world without realising. It was the desert world – Agrabah. No one objected to Riku's suggestion to land to check on the gummi ship. The flight was shaky but somehow it managed to pull through.

Once landed, Riku and Goofy went to check on the gummi ship's damaged parts. The engine was completely gone. The lower body of the ship was darkened and burnt by the explosion. When the ship needed repair in the past, Chip and Dale were usually there to fix it. But right now, the little technicians were with King Mickey. There weren't any spare parts and neither Riku nor Goofy knew enough to be able to fix the ship.

"How is the ship?" Namine asked hopefully when the two returned from the inspection. Her face fell when Riku shook his head.

"I'm going to the town to see if anyone can help," said Riku, though he wasn't optimistic about the chance of finding anyone with the knowledge of how to fix it. Donald suggested they find Aladdin first so they could ask Genie for help. Goofy said they should check to see if Jasmine was ok. Riku intended to go to into town by himself. But Donald and Goofy insisted to go into town with him in case he ran into the maintainers. Namine stayed behind on the ship to look after Sora and Kairi.

They had come to Agrabah at the busiest time. The bazaar was pack with shoppers. As they walked past the stalls, merchants tried to sell them all sorts of things. Donald and Goofy busily turned down the offers. Riku ignored the merchants completely. For some reason, he noticed there were more palace guards on the streets than usual. They asked around, but nobody seemed to have any idea about gummi ships.

Eventually, they arrived at Aladdin's house. The place had little furniture. All the things Aladdin had were things he collected from other people's unwanted pile. There wasn't anyone home. Not even the magic carpet was there. Just when they were about to leave, Aladdin returned home puffing and panting.

"Donald! Goofy!" Aladdin exclaimed when he saw the two. He was still wearing the same clothes as he had the last time Donald and Goofy saw him. Sitting on his shoulder was Abu the monkey. "What brought you here today?"

"Our gummi ship broke down and we're looking for genie to help. Why do you seem to be in such a hurry?" Goofy asked.

"Jasmine has gone missing," Aladdin sighed heavily. Riku, Donald and Goofy could tell he was very worried. "Everyone in the palace is looking for her. I came back to see if she had come here, but it doesn't look it," he explained, his shoulder slumped in disappointment. Riku figured that explained the number of palace guards on patrol. "And about Genie, it's bad news for you, I'm afraid. He went travelling again and hasn't come back yet."

"We'll help you look for her," Goofy offered. While they were on their way to the palace, they heard their names being called. "Riku, Donald, Goofy!" Namine ran to them panting. "Sora's gone! He woke up and then ran off when he realised we are in this world. I went after him but lost him in the crowd."

"That idiot Sora," Riku said through gritted teeth. That was the last thing he needed. The group split up to look for Sora and Jasmine separately. Aladdin and Abu went to search in the inner streets. Donald and Goofy returned to the bazaar. Riku and Namine headed for the palace.

When Riku and Namine arrived at the front of the palace, they spotted Sora revealing another floating gem with his keyblade. It looked exactly the same as the one Riku saw in Wonderland.

Just when Riku was about to call out to Sora, someone else beat him to it. "Sora!" A feminine voice called out. Sora looked up. Above the sand-colour palace wall stood the blue-hair maintainer, Zenith. She jumped down, landing right between Sora and the floating gem.

Anyone could tell she was from a foreign world just by looking at her outfit. But as the Cheshire cat said, she was a pretty person. "I've finally found you," said Zenith, her voice clear and calm.

Sora backed away slightly. "You're…a maintainer?" he asked with an alarmed expression on his face. "You're the one who stole Kairi's heart?"

Zenith nodded solemnly. "Sora, don't destroy any more of the seals. Nothing will change no matter what you do."

Sora scowled. "What are you trying to do with the princesses' hearts?"

"You have been to the other side of the door in front of Kingdom Hearts, haven't you?" Zenith said, speaking slowly. "Light needs darkness. Darkness requires light. They exist in parallel. The princesses of light have no darkness in their hearts. The seals have no light within them. For each of the seals you destroy, you are throwing the world out of balance more so."

"What?" Sora asked, appeared to be taken aback by the news. He grunted at another seizure in his heart.

Zenith looked at him pitifully. "It's for your own good. The seals protect themselves by taking away your memories. You won't be able to get to the last seal in this state," she said.

"I need to put an end to this endless cycle of heartless and nobody. I just have to," said Sora, his cerulean eyes filled with pain.

"It's not that simple, Sora," said Zenith. "The world is used to the presence of the seals. They have become part of the world. You can't just destroy them. Please give up."

"What if I say I don't want to?" Sora asked. He straightened himself as the seizure eased.

Zenith put a protective hand over the floating seal. "In that case," her eyes narrowed. "I'll have to kill you."

Riku and Namine were watching them from the side. Neither of them was able to fully comprehend the situation. Without another word, Sora dashed forward with his keyblade and tried to get past Zenith to the seal.

To Sora's surprise, Zenith jumped away. "Flare," she said. In a blink of an eye, a huge ball of red energy formed in midair. It expanded rapidly, changing the original fire red colour to become orange and then turned golden.

"Get down!" Riku pulled Namine down to the ground. They braced their heads just as the ball of energy exploded, releasing powerful energy waves to its surrounding. When Riku looked up again, one side of the palace wall was completely demolished, revealing the inner structures inside the palace. The garden was burnt to ashes. It reminded Riku of the ruins in Wonderland, where they found Alice, Donald and Goofy. Zenith used the same flare magic back there. It was unlike the ones he saw Sora and Donald use. The seal, which was on the other side, was unaffected. Sora stood a fair distance away from the seal and Zenith. He appeared to have avoided a direct hit by the magic. Watching his opponent, Sora moved cautiously.

Namine shook Riku's arm. "Riku, aren't you going to do anything?" she asked desperately.

Although he did not show it on his face, Riku was feeling confused and lost too. "What can we do? We still don't understand what is going on. Who is right and who is wrong? Sora? Or the maintainer? What if they're both right, or both wrong?"

"But…"

"Blizzaga!" Sora called, directing the magic at Zenith.

"Reflega," Zenith countered, summoning an arc-shaped barrier before her. It reflected the blizzaga magic back at Sora, who barely rolled out of its path in time.

Unfortunately, he didn't realise Zenith had executed a demi spell next to him. Sora grunted as he felt his energy drain out of him, making his limbs feel weak. Knowing that he couldn't use magic on her again, Sora watched her carefully. He waited until he saw a small opening. Then, he threw a spinning keyblade at her. The maintainer called forth the protect magic, minimising the damage. Sora used this opportunity to head for the seal.

From where she stood, Namine cried out loud. "Sora, you can't destroy it! If you lose any more of your memories – you'll die!"

Sora turned to look at Namine for a second. Namine was stunned when his eyes told her that he knew he was risking his life. The slight hesitation cost him dearly. As soon as Zenith recovered, she cast the next magic spell. "Flare!" she said, directing the magic to Sora. Seeing it coming, Sora dived out of the way immediately. It wasn't quick enough. He screamed in pain as the magic burnt his body. Sora collapsed on the ground.

Moaning, Sora tried to get up; but his legs refused to move. His body was hurting all over.

"Why can't you just leave the world the way it is, Sora?" Zenith asked, standing over him. Her expression was sad.

"SORA!!!" Riku yelled. It didn't matter what Sora was doing anymore. He just couldn't watch his best friend get killed in front of his eyes.

For a moment, Riku thought he was seeing things. Sora suddenly sprung up andswang his keyblade at the Zenith at a speed faster than he could see. Taken by surprise, she didn't move away in time. Sora was still lying on the ground, barely able to move. The Sora standing wasn't holding onto one, but two keyblades. They were the beautiful white Oathkeeper and mesmerising black Oblivion.

"You are…" Zenith's eyes widened. She didn't even notice she was cut.

On the far side, Namine called. "Roxas!"

* * *

**Author's note:** Finally, chapter 4. This chapter should clear out a few questions that have been building up since chapter 1. I actually wrote half of this chapter with chapter 3, but didn't like how it was so I scraped it entirely and rewrote it.

I would also like to give credits to the beta reader of this fanfic. Without him, I wouldn't notice places where I could improve on. Thank you for staying up until midnight to check my writing for me even though you have assignments. You know who you are, thank you very, very much.

Readers, please review!


	5. Chapter 5

End of Eternity

Chapter 5

The once majestic front entrance of Agrabah's royal palace was in ruins. The tall walls on its side had been demolished. The well-kept garden beds were reduced to a state beyond recognition. A crowd of shocked residents of the city had gathered to see what the commotion was about. Two boys and a girl, all in their teens stood in what was left of the gate. Another teenage boy and girl were further away from the three. No one dared getting close to get themselves involved.

Riku watched as Zenith recoiled in surprise at Roxas' strike. She finally noticed that blood was running down one of her arms. It was the arm she used when she defended herself instinctively when Roxas struck her moments earlier. The cuts from the keyblades were deep. Roxas swung Oblivion at her again. Alerted this time, she avoided it by quickly moving aside. As she did so, she immediately realised her mistake.

"No, the seal!" she gasped.

Though immobilised, Sora shot out the thundaga magic from the tip of his keyblade. It hit the seal that Zenith was protecting; dispersing brilliant sparks of yellow upon impact. Electrical currents swelled through the seal, forging numerous cracks simultaneously. Streaks of yellow seeped through the cracks like liquid lava on dry land as it slowly breaks apart. As if he had used up his strength, Sora collapsed before its fragments disappeared without a trace into thin air.

Roxas rushed to Sora's side at once and found that he had fainted. Roxas turned to the sound of approaching footsteps. It was Zenith. "Don't come any closer," Roxas warned her, glaring at her dangerously. With an arm he supported Sora and held Oblivion in front of both of them defensively with his free hand.

At almost the same time, Riku stepped in Zenith's way, separating her from Roxas and Sora.

Holding onto her wounded arm, Zenith took a reluctant step back with a scowl.

"Who are you?" Roxas demanded.

Zenith only glared at them angrily. There was nothing in her pale brown eyes that showed signs of giving in.

Without any warning, they heard a sound of something slicing through the air. Riku caught a glimpse of a person before feeling an intensely sharp pain on one side of his face. Shaken by the suddenness, Riku forced himself to focus on what was going on. A man with striking blue hair stood before him and Roxas. Feeling something sticky tickling down his cheek, Riku wiped it with the back of his hand. It was his blood. Riku was sure it was that man who assaulted them. He appeared to be carrying something in his right hand. Even though Riku was almost certain that was what cut him, strangely enough, he couldn't see it at all. Roxas eyed the man up and down; he seemed to be thinking about the same thing. He could've killed them easily just then, if he had aimed at their throat, not their face. Riku called forth his keyblade and held his guard up, ready for anything to come.

The man looked at them with an amused expression. To the other two's surprise, he turned his back to them and walked towards Zenith. "You ok, Zen?" he asked her. He was tall and looked a little older than her, around twenty years old. He had short spiky hair. He was tall and wore cream-coloured outfit in similar design to Zenith's.

Zenith stared vacantly at the space where the seal was minutes ago. "The seal…" she murmured.

The man shook his head. "It's destroyed. We can only go to the last seal now. At least I have obtained the heart of the princess in this world. Besides, you can't fight them in this state," he said. Zenith grimaced resentfully. She gave a small nod.

Just when Riku was about to say something to them, they jumped an incredible height, onto the top of the sandy-coloured houses. It was an inhuman ability. Whoever they were, they were not ordinary people.

"Tell Sora that we'll be waiting at Radiant Garden," Zenith called down to Riku. Her thin eyebrows were locked tight into a frown. "I'll protect the last seal, no matter what."

"What do you mean, the last seal?" Riku called back.

"Who are you?" Roxas shouted behind the maintainers. Zenith was too far away to hear them. Her seeming partner, the young man stopped and turned to face them. "I'm Thyme, got it memorised?" he said with a smirk, tapping his head with his index finger. He then went after Zenith.

"Thyme…" Namine said softly, staring at the maintainers until they disappear out of sight. Riku was stunned. Roxas froze in his place.

"That guy…" Riku's words trailed off. Thyme reminded him of a particular nobody.

Namine's expression was gentle yet sad. "He is sounded so much like…"

"Axel…" Roxas finished for her in a whisper.

"Sora!" Aladdin came to join them, hopping carefully to select where to land his feet amongst the rubble. He was followed by Donald and Goofy. When he got near, he immediately realised it wasn't Sora whom he greeted. "No, you're not…what happened to Sora?"

Roxas hung his head in regret. "Aladdin…We're terribly sorry we couldn't protect Jasmine," he said. He looked up to Aladdin. "Her heart has been taken. But we'll find definitely get it back, we promise."

Aladdin looked in Roxas' blue eyes as if to confirm his determination. At last, he nodded firmly. "I'm counting on you."

"Looks like I came too late, didn't I?" A sulky voice said from behind.

"Your majesty!" Donald cried in joy. King Mickey came walking towards them. He appeared a little tired.

"No, your majesty. You came at the perfect time. Our gummi ship broke down and we couldn't repair it," Goofy told him.

"Broken? You'll have to tell me the story of how that happened later," said the King, raising an unhappy eyebrow. He looked at Donald, Goofy, Riku, Namine and Roxas in the eyes briefly. His glance stopped by the unconscious Sora for a split second. "Everyone, we should talk back on my gummi ship. Please come with me," he announced.

King Mickey led the way. Donald and Goofy followed behind him. Roxas carried Sora on his shoulder. Namine walked with Riku. No one talked much. Everyone had things on their mind.

The Royal Library gummi ship that the King used for emergency a year ago turned out to be quite a fine vessel. After the reconstruction of the Disney Castle, it remained to be the primary gummi ship the King used. The books and portraits of the proceeding Kings have moved to the new castle library, but the colourful bookshelves remained. After they have settled down, everyone gathered around King Mickey, who was checking up things with the computer at the cockpit while giving orders to Chip and Dale to prepare for take off. When he turned around, he was surprise to find everyone gathered behind him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realise you were all waiting for me," King Mickey blushed slightly, putting a hand behind his head. He gave them a small smile. "But I believe there is more for me to find out than I have to tell you. Where shall we start?"

Goofy was the first to ask. "Did you find out anything about the maintainers, your majesty?"

"Ah yes. Actually, it is very strange. I went back to Disney Castle to search through my entire library. I even went to my master, Yen Sid, for help. Yet I still I couldn't find any information on them. None at all," the King sighed.

"That means they probably came from a world we have never been to," said Riku, who was leaning against the interior wall of the ship with his arms crossed.

"How do you know, Riku?" Goofy asked.

"It's a guess," Riku turned his head to face them. "But considering we've been to all the other worlds we could by gummi ship and we hadn't come across people like them. Also, they have never showed up in front of us until now," he said.

"That means…someone opened a new path?" Donald wondered, crossing his arm as well.

"Most likely," said Riku, looking at the unconscious Sora.

"Is Sora going to be ok?" Donald asked with a worried face. Roxas and Namine had placed the unconscious Sora in a comfortable position. They both stayed close to his side.

"Things don't look good. If he doesn't get his memories back soon…he can't live," Namine said bitterly. She turned to Roxas. "Roxas, what happened back there?"

Roxas shook his head. "I don't know," he said, appeared confused as well. "I was sleeping within Sora as usual. All of a sudden he woke me up. I don't think Sora knew what he did. May be it was his heart …When I came to, the girl with blue hair was right in front of us. Something told me she was a threat."

"So you don't know those two maintainers, Roxas? Are they nobodies?" asked the King.

"No, I've never met them. But they're definitely human, I'm sure of it," answered Roxas. There was something in his face that told Riku that he had something else in mind. It didn't happen often, but Sora used to make the exact same look.

"I think likewise," Namine cut in, looking at Roxas.

Donald turned to Goofy with a puzzled look. "Hey Goofy, doesn't that man remind you of someone we know? That 'got it memorised' phrase and that attitude…" They crossed their arms in unison, thinking hard. When asked by their King, the two retold the story about what happened in Beast Castle, Wonderland and Agrabah. Everyone listened quietly.

Just when they were about to finish, Sora began to stir. Immediately everyone gathered close to him and Roxas. "Roxas…?" Sora asked with his eyes half-opened. He shook his head as if to rid of the sleepiness that is clinging onto him. Surprise to see so many people around him, Sora looked at everyone and turned back to Roxas. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

Roxas sighed with an irritated look on his face. Before anyone could say anything, he had smacked Sora hard on the head.

"OUCH! What did you do that for?!" Sora asked angrily, holding on his aching head.

Roxas shrugged with an innocent look. "You wanted to know if you were dreaming or not."

Sora rubbed the sore spot. "It hurts," he said slowly. Pain is never felt in dreams.

"Just what do you think you're doing? Destroying the seals and being hunted by those maintainers. You want to get yourself killed?!" yelled Roxas.

"It's not like I want to be chased by those people!" Sora yelled back. His shoulder slumped."I just…wanted to change the world."

"Change the world?" Roxas asked. "Sora, what have you been doing? You have to tell us."

Sora turned to Riku and Namine. Riku gave him a reassuring nod. Namine gave him a smile. He took a small breath and began. "Even though I had been fighting heartless and nobodies all along, I never understood them – until Roxas and Namine were gone. Everything about them is full of sadness. I don't want anyone to feel sad because the people they care about have turned into heartless and nobodies. I don't want to see heartless hurting others anymore because they have lost their minds. I don't want any nobodies to feel empty and lacking because they don't have a heart. I…wanted it to end."

"Sora…" Roxas said softly.

Riku closed his eyes. Sora's intention wasn't something he couldn't understand. Yet, it was the world Sora wanted to change. "And that's why you were looking all over the worlds for the past year? For something that may change this?"

"Yes…I didn't know if there was a way, but I knew I couldn't stay in Destiny Islands. I had to do something. I looked everywhere but found nothing, not a single clue. Then I thought of Kingdom Hearts. It was the only place I haven't looked." Everyone was listening so intently, not one person blinked. Sora continued, "When I arrived at the tower, my keyblade detected a new keyhole. I unlocked it and a door appeared in front of me."

Riku remembered seeing a stone door with green vines when he was there. It had to be the one Sora was talking about.

"I didn't think I would find a keyhole at Kingdom Hearts. There was nothing that could've triggered it, unlike the other keyholes. Anyway, I went through the door. It led to a room that looked like an old science laboratory. Then, I heard a voice speaking to me. It was a voice-recording message. The technology was incredible, but it seemed like it had been left there fore many years," Sora continued.

"The message was very short. The speaker mentioned that he doesn't have much time left. For some reason, he seemed to know who would come. The message was addressed to 'the bearer of the keyblade, the wielder of light'. What was more unreal was that he knew what I went there for. He told me there is a way to rid the world of heartless and nobodies. In order to do so, I must overthrow the balance of the world, which is maintained by the seven princesses of light and the seven seals. I have to either destroy the seals, or kill the princesses. He said wherever the princesses are; there will be a seal in the same world. He warned me that I might need to pay a price for destroying the seals. He also warned me of the maintainers. They will use any means to stop me."

"But I never expected loosing the seals would cause the worlds to move all out of place. And causing the heartless and nobodies go crazy," Sora hung his head shamefully.

King Mickey went to Sora. When the King opened his mouth to speak, Sora winced, expecting to be scolded. Instead, the King said, "You've grown, Sora." Donald winked. Goofy gave Sora his goofy smile.

"Don't try to do everything by yourself. You have friends, don't you? Those were your words," said Riku.

"I'm sorry, Riku," Sora apologised. "So…this isn't a dream?"

"You want to confirm that again?" asked Roxas, rolling his hand into a fist again.

"Wait! I'll pass," Sora said quickly, waving his hands and shaking his head frantically.

Namine giggled. Then Donald and Goofy started to laugh. Suddenly, everyone burst into laughter. Namine smiled. Sora and Roxas never ceased to amaze her. They possess such incredible quality to change everyone's mood. Moments ago, the atmosphere was heavy and everyone was feeling down and concerned. Now everyone was laughing heartily. Seeing everyone was laughing, Sora and Roxas joined in as well. Gradually, the laughter died out.

"I don't get it. How can Roxas you be here?" Sora asked.

"I don't understand either, but something in me feels different. Something at somewhere changed, I don't feel quite the same…" said Roxas doubtfully.

"I feel it too, Roxas," said Namine. Her face was serene. "I don't feel the bond between Kairi and I as strong as I did before. It is as if we're parting…becoming two separate people. I know it's not possible…but strange things have been happening in the world because of the princesses and the seals. It affected Kingdom Hearts. I can feel it."

"But you don't know what it is?" Riku asked. Namine shook her head.

"Hey Riku, worry so much will give you grey hair you know," Sora grinned. His face had mischief written over it.

"Not like he doesn't have a head full of it already," said Roxas factually.

"At least my head isn't empty," Riku said coldly.

Sora's mouth began to curl to a smile. But when he saw Riku's face, he quickly covered his mouth to hide it. "Why is your hair like that, Riku?"

His question caught Riku's attention. Sora asked him that question years ago, when they first met as children. He had never asked again since then. Sora should know that was his natural hair colour.

King Mickey smiled at the scene. Then, he remembered something he had to ask. "Sora, how many seals have you destroyed?"

"Let's see…" Sora was counting with his fingers. "Six. There is only one left."

"SIX?" Donald jumped in astonishment. "Sora, haven't you only destroyed three?" He held up his four fingers and counted down the worlds they have been to so far.

"Before we ran into you, you've been to other worlds, haven't you?" asked Riku.

"I went to the world where Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty were. They were fine when I was there. I'm not so sure anymore though," Sora said worriedly.

"Is it really ok to destroy the seals?" Goofy asked worriedly. "Loosing the balance between light and darkness had already driven the heartless and nobodies crazy. The worlds are shifting probably because of the same reason."

Everyone showed hesitation on their faces.

"I'm sorry everyone. I can't quit now, not that I've come so far," said Sora resolutely.

"Sora," Namine spoke up quietly. "Do you remember the time when you met Riku and Kairi?" she asked Sora, who wasn't looking at her. "Do you remember the name of the philosopher who sought revenge on his disciples? Do you remember the leader of Organisation XIII?" Sora looked at her pleadingly, hoping she would stop asking. Namine asked again. "Do you remember why you have the keyblade to begin with?"

"Stop it, Namine," Roxas said softly.

Sora smiled at her sadly. "…I don't," he said. "I don't remember anything beyond a year ago. But I have to do this." There was something in his heart that told him so.

Roxas stood by Sora's side. "I'll be on Sora's side no matter what he chooses," he stated. His blue eyes showed the same determination as Sora's. Sora looked at him thankfully.

Turning to Riku, Roxas asked. "Are you going to stop us?"

"Roxas!" Sora looked and Riku and Roxas nervously, feeling uneasy at the tension between them.

"You're going to Radiant Garden, aren't you Sora?" Riku asked, ignoring Roxas completely. He remembered what Zenith said earlier. "I'm going too. There are some things I need to ask those maintainers. They must know something about what is happening."

Suddenly, the gummi ship tumbled as it received impacts one after another. Everyone looked out the front window and was amazed by what they saw. At first, it felt like they were getting hit by small asteroids. But when they looked closely, it was the ship that was hitting things. There were thousands of clusters made up of heartless and nobodies fighting against each other. They didn't seem to take notice of the gummi ship, not even when it rammed into them. It was a spectacular sight. Riku, Sora and Roxas had never seen so many at the same time. They gathered around a single world.

"No way…how can it be here?" said a wide-eye Sora. That world should be much further away than it is.

Radiant Garden.

* * *

**Author's note: **Sincere apologies for haven't updated for so long. It's been more than a month! I have been extremely busy these days, getting busy with things I don't want to be busy with. But I have been spending weeks working on and off this chapter. I put a lot of effort into writing this story. So, **please review**, please? It would only take seconds to press the submit a review button below and write a sentence of what you thought or whether you like it or not (be anoynomous, don't punctuate your sentence, whatever). I will put up the next chapter depending on how many reviews I get. I don't intend this to sound like a lecture, but I'm just not getting enough back for how much I put in. I'll never give up on a story if readers don't. **I'll probably discontinue this story** depending on the responses. Sorry for this long and boring and disheartening speech. I just had to make it. Thank you for reading. 


	6. Chapter 6

End of Eternity

Chapter 6

Countless heartless and nobodies blanket out the sky of Radiant Garden. Tired of ramming into them, Donald and Goofy began firing at those in the way as the gummi ship descended into the atmosphere.

From the cockpit view, everyone was beginning to recognise some of the familiar landscape. The castle ruins and town houses gradually became bigger. Everyone seemed to be in a slightly more cheery mood to return to a place they felt somehow belonged.

Roxas took a side-glance at Sora, wondering what he was thinking. Sora, too, was looking at the scenic view below them. There were many questions on Roxas' mind. He was more concerned about two than the rest. What would happen if all the seals were destroyed? Would the world end? No one – nobody – had the answers. Roxas nearly chuckled when he thought of that. Do the maintainers know? Perhaps. But no matter what happened, his decision was firm. He understood better than anyone else the motive behind Sora's actions. He would help Sora even if the whole world stood against them.

Riku and the King were talking amongst themselves at the other end of the ship. Roxas knew they wouldn't be as supportive as Sora hoped them to be. If they were to act, Roxas would choose to act immediately.

It turned out Sora was thinking along the same line. While no one was taking notice of them, he dragged Roxas to the side. He then indicated to the control panel.

Roxas followed his gaze and spotted a round green button that Sora was referring to. He understood immediately. Acting as naturally as possible, he went up to the control panel again.

"What are you doing?" Riku asked alertly just as Roxas smacked the green button.

Before the others were able to comprehend what was going on, the dispatch hatch at the end of the ship opened up. Strong winds sucked into the vessel, causing the entire ship to rock. The town was directly below.

"Sora!" Riku yelled, squinting from the gust blowing in his face.

Sora gave him an apologising look and jumped down the hatch. Roxas followed right behind.

A few people called after them but Roxas didn't hear what they said. The wind drowned their voices instantly. Although they weren't far from the ground, free falling was still an incredible experience. Town houses grew rapidly from model-sizes back to their normal sizes before Roxas eyes. Sora was right next to him. His eyes glimmered with excitement.

With precise timing, the pair performed several aerial dives to reduce the impact upon landing to a minimum. They had arrived at the borough not far from Merlin's house. The gummi ship was a dark blob in the sky. Thinking about they just did, Roxas was ready to admit they were truly crazy to have jumped down from there. As he expected, Riku had not followed them this time. The silver-head didn't have the ability to jump down from such a height without breaking all the bones in his body.

"Is it ok to leave them behind? They'll be worried," Roxas asked. The heartless and nobodies had infiltrated the sky as well as the land. Similar to the situation in Destiny Island, those black and white enemies were scattered all over the place, fighting each other mindlessly.

"They'll be angry too. But it's all my fault that things had come down to this. I'll take care of it alone if I can," said Sora conclusively.

"We will," Roxas corrected him. A big smile spread across Sora's face. He then drew out his keyblade to detect the location of the last keyhole. Suddenly, his smile was replaced by a painful grimace.

Roxas could sense the pain, though it felt far away, as if someone was trying to hit him through layers of cushions. He froze. Was it pain he was feeling? Nobodies were not suppose to be able to feel any emotion. Was it merely his imagination?

It was no use thinking about it, so Roxas pushed it out of his mind. "Can you really go on, Sora?" There was little memory left in Sora's heart. Even as his nobody, Roxas couldn't tell how much longer Sora could keep going.

"I can do it," Sora told him between uneven breaths. "I can sense the presence of last seal coming over there." He pointed to the direction of the restoration site.

Though unconvinced, Roxas didn't argue. No one could change it after Sora's mind was made up. Standing upright, he slipped his arm under Sora's to support him.

"It's so good that you're back," Roxas heard Sora say as he half drag and half walked Sora towards the restoration site. He said it in a soft voice but because they were so close, Roxas heard it quite clearly. "Roxas…" Sora continued. "I never understood anything about nobodies. A lot of times, I always only think about what those have to do with me. I never understood anything about you. I'm sorry." If the genuineness in Sora's eyes didn't speak all for him, the honesty in his heart certainly did so.

"Well, you can always buy me sea salt ice if you're apologising," Roxas said with a grin. He noticed the King's gummi ship wasn't in the sky anymore. Realising they had little time, the pair pressed on.

Going to the restoration site involved passing the enemies invested bailey. Roxas and Sora kept away from unnecessary battles as much as they could. The keyblade was picking up a strong reaction from underground, leading them pass the postern to the corridors. By then, Sora recovered enough to walk without Roxas' help.

If the reaction was coming from within the corridors, they had only a place in mind.

Philosopher Ansem's study was tidy. In a way that it had nothing other than a large rectangular desk and several empty bookshelves. Leon and the others have tidied up the mess that was there when they first discovered the place. There weren't any glass fragments on the floor anymore. The stacks of reports were on longer there either. King Mickey had either taken them away or destroyed them after he found out Sora had been studying there. The blackboards that had theories on the heart and darkness written all over were gone as well. Walking past the study, Roxas and Sora came to Ansem's massive computer. Sora stared at the large device behind the computer with a perplexed look. Roxas could guess it must felt familiar to Sora, but he couldn't remember what it was for.

Roxas turned his attention to the computer. It was logged on.

"I wonder if Leon or Aeris was here?" Sora wondered. He seemed happier that he still remembered two of his friends.

"Sora, look!" Roxas pointed down to the heartless manufactory. Sora looked at where he was pointing. In the middle of the circular space down the manufactory, a small part of the floor was lit, as if there were lights underneath. Someone must have activated it. The two hurried down the lower floor using the nearby elevator.

Nothing was out of place besides the lit up part of the floor. Walking around it, Roxas examined it carefully. It was very cleverly hidden. If it hadn't been activated, there was no way anyone would have noticed it. From his memory, the design of this place resembled the Castle that Never Was.

"What can this be?" Sora asked no one in particular. He couldn't remember the floor being like that at any one time. But then, he had forgotten too many things to be sure. The manufactory was bigger than any other place he had ever been. Massive tube-like mechanic parts arranged diagonally on each side. While he was looking at the machinery, Sora accidentally stepped on the lit up section.

To their astonishment, the further half of the floor began to split apart, opening a long rectangular hatch in front of them. There was a pathway leading down somewhere. Roxas peered down beneath. There seemed to be light below but he couldn't see it very well from above. Knowing Ansem's study was already an underground facility, neither Roxas or Sora could imagine what could be hidden under there.

"The seal is down there isn't it?" Roxas asked Sora, who nodded in response. Keyblades readied, they made their down cautiously.

The path led them to a small room in greyish metallic colour. There was nothing in it, only bare walls on each side. They followed the path and exited out by the only other way. Before they came within view, Roxas and Sora could already sense the maintainers waiting for them in the next area.

Zenith stood with her back leaning against the curved wall, not far from the entrance of the area. "You really came," she spoke with a calm voice. Her wounded arm was bandaged all the way from shoulder to fingers. Thyme was standing behind her, watching them with an interested expression on his face. Zenith dropped her relaxed composure and turned around to face Roxas and Sora.

"How did you get down here? What are you doing here?" Roxas demanded. Meanwhile, his eyes scanned the area they had come to. They were in a circular room. In fact, it was more of a pit than a room. A single pathway spiralled down all the way along the side, leading down to what seemed an abyss of darkness. There was nothing except for empty space in the middle of the room. There was no railing at all along the edge. One slip of foot could mean a long fall down. Roxas looked down to the dark depths. He couldn't see where the path ends.

"The technology of this world is far less advance than ours. It was easy to hack the system to come down here," Zenith answered.

"Maintainers!!! Why did you have to take the princesses' hearts?" Sora asked angrily.

"You know why, Sora," Zenith said. "Without the seals, the world will be thrown out of balance. Taking the hearts of the princesses puts equilibrium back to the world…but only for a short time." Her serene expression was changing into a worried frown. "Let me ask you now. Why do you have to destroy the seals? You know now you will destroy the world if you do that. Why do you still do it?"

Sorrow flashed past Sora's cerulean eyes. "I don't like the world the way it is," he answered. "Sure, I can live all my life without doing anything to it and it'll be fine. But I don't want to. I can't. There is too much sadness the way it is."

"Don't you get it, Sora? This is the only way the world can be," Zenith said bitterly. "If the seals are gone, the balance between light and darkness will be lost. The world will be in chaos." Power was gathering on her good hand. A magic arc began to form on her palm. At the same time, Thyme straightened himself to face Sora and Roxas.

"No," Sora rejected firmly, summoning his keyblade to his side the same time. Roxas equipped himself with his own ones. "Even though sometimes changes will make things worse, we have to face up to it. If nothing ever changes, nothing will ever get better either. This world has to change!"

Zenith's expression hardened. "There is no more point talking, is there?"

"Meltdown," she said. Power gathered on the tip of the arc and shot out as a concentrated beam of orange-coloured energy. Seeing it coming, Roxas and Sora dived out of the way respectively. The magic melted a huge hole on the wall.

Zenith seized the chance to block the way back to the manufactory. Thyme was standing in the other way, where the path led down to the unknown. He was apparently unarmed. But Roxas remembered he wielded something invisible that cut him and Riku on the face back in Agrabah.

Roxas and Sora stood back to back. "The seal is somewhere down there. I can feel it," Sora said to Roxas, while keeping a close eye on Zenith.

Roxas look down to the depths below once again. Unlike Sora, he wasn't able to sense the presence of the seal. There was no way for him to tell where it is. Only Sora could find out its exact location. But first, their priority was to get past the maintainers. The fight was inevitable.

At the same time, Roxas and Sora charged in opposite directions at their respective opponent.

"Out of the way!" Roxas yelled, attacking Thyme head-on. He wielded Oblivion over his head, with it followed by Oathkeeper striking from the side. Just as Roxas was certain his attack would not miss, the keyblades clashed loudly against something hard. Both his keyblades were stopped in mid-air. Thyme was holding something in front of him to have blocked it. It was the same as last time. And Roxas still couldn't see what it was.

Noticed Roxas' reaction, Thyme smirked. "You can't see it, can you?" he said. "Don't worry, you're not the only one." With his invisible weapon, Thyme shoved Roxas' keyblades back and performed a swinging action. Roxas dodged it narrowly but a sharp cut appeared in side of his jacket.

It was clear to Roxas that strategies were required if he didn't want to lose in the next minute. He decided to concentrate on defence while observing his opponent's attacks and movements. Judging from the manner the weapon was wielded; Roxas guessed it was either a katana or a sword. After dodging Thyme's attacks and watching his moves for a few minutes, his style became obvious to Roxas. He didn't use any magic at all, unlike Zenith, who only used magic. His movements were unpredictable. There was no way to tell what was coming next. The only means to block was to pay very close attention. With precise timing, Roxas blocked an incoming strike for the first time.

Thyme whistled. "Think you've got it?" he said with a smirk again.

"You've got a lot to say, don't you?" Roxas replied coldly. He was starting to get the hang of blocking and evading. But he knew if he doesn't start attacking soon, he would surely lose. The thing that puzzled him the most was the fact that he couldn't see the weapon. Could Thyme see what he was using? If Thyme could, why couldn't he?

After fighting for a while, neither side showed signs of defeat. Strangely, Roxas didn't feel his opponent was putting all his effort into the battle. But that wasn't the top of his concern. He was getting worried about Sora. Roxas took a quick glance over his shoulder. Sora was catching his breath from running around and avoiding Zenith's meltdown and demi spells. Between them, golden lines gathered in a point. The point expanded rapidly into a ball of energy and exploded. The part of the pathway they stood on collapsed, causing them to fall to the path a level below.

"Sora!!" Roxas called. Zenith wasn't going to give Sora a chance to rest. With a wave of her arm, she executed multiple demi spells around him.

With attention on Sora, Roxas didn't become aware of the strike coming from behind until the last moment. He boosted defence by crossing his keyblades to block the hit from Thyme. Yet it still knocked him backwards to the edge of the path. For a second, Roxas thought he was going to fall into the bottomless-looking pit. He somehow managed to steer his balance back on the pathway. He looked at his hands. They were shaking slightly. It took Roxas moments to register that he just experienced the feeling of fear.

Roxas realised Thyme was looking down to Zenith and Sora while he was recovering from the fright. It didn't make sense to Roxas why Thyme wouldn't use the chance to finish him off.

"Thinking about joining them? The more the merrier," Thyme said jokingly. "May be we should ask if we can?"

The way he spoke reminded Roxas of Axel again. Roxas tightened his grip on the keyblades. He knew from the start. Thyme couldn't be Axel. Axel was gone. He gave his all to save Sora; and to save him. If Axel were still there, he would like the world to be rid of nobodies forever as well. Roxas was positive.

Feeling a fizzling sensation in the air, Roxas and Thyme stopped in their tracks to see more closely what was happening below them.

Sora held his keyblade in front of him in a defensive posture, panting heavily. He was busy running away from Zenith's magic most of the time, so he didn't have many chances to attack. But his determined eyes showed no signs of defeat. Roxas was amazed that Sora hadn't sustained major injuries from Zenith's magic.

On the other hand, Zenith appeared rather irritated that none of her magic had landed on her target. She lowered her arm and closed her eyes. The fizzling sensation thickened around her. Magic power was accumulating. Having faced mages in battle, Roxas knew one of the biggest weaknesses of magic was that it had to take time to generate.

Sora wasn't going to miss out on the one and only opportunity to attack. He started running towards her at his top speed.

It would be over if Sora could attack before she released the magic. But Roxas didn't like the chances.

"No, Sora!"

Sora was only meters away when Zenith snapped open her eyes. She raised her arm into the air. "Meteor!"

In an instant, the space above them turned pitch black. It was as though she had opened another dimension. Black and red molten rocks in the size of basketballs – real meteors - began to pour down like way oversized raindrops. "Reflectga!" Sora yelled, creating a circular barrier around himself. Meteors went straight through it like it wasn't there, nearly hitting him on the face.

Roxas looked around frantically for cover. The only cover they could hope to get was by running down another loop of the very spiral pathway they were on. Roxas jumped down next to a panicking Sora.

"Roxas!"

Roxas could tell by the look on Sora's face that he was about to ask him what to do. "Don't ask, just jump!" Roxas yelled. He cried out in pain when one meteor hit him on the arm. Again, he was feeling pain.

"Roxas! You ok?" Sora's call snapped Roxas out of his thought. They took a couple of steps back before running forward and leap down. The running up helped them land safely. They looked up in unison. The burning-hot meteors were destroying the pathway where they stood as well as the part they were standing on. The only person who wasn't affected was the castor, Zenith. Roxas and Sora realised they had to keep running. They began sprinting down the spiral pathway like their lives depended on it. Still they couldn't see where the path ends.

They didn't go very far before being forced to stop. Too many were raining down on them too quickly. There were not only meteors. Bits of the path destroyed by the meteors broke off and were sent flying in every direction. With no other choice, Roxas and Sora began striking everything heading their way with their keyblades. They were able to clear most of their way, but some managed to slip through and hit them hard. It was difficult to avoid the following ones once they were hit by the first.

The meteor rain would have been beautiful if they didn't have to be directly under it. Roxas could feel fatigue was building up in his body, especially his arms. He was beginning to have trouble catching his breath. But the meteor magic showed no signs of easing. Roxas continued to strike the meteor rain down with his dual keyblades. He tried cover Sora as much as possible. After all, Sora was disadvantaged by wielding a single keyblade.

Just when Roxas was about to give up, the meteor rain stopped.

Roxas used his keyblades for support so he wouldn't collapse from exhaustion. He couldn't hear anything besides the heavy breaths his own. He was sweating from head to toe. His lungs felt like they were on fire. He could sense the maintainers were drawing closer. Sora and he were totally defenceless at that moment. He wondered if that was the end for them.

"Sora, Roxas!"

Roxas could vaguely hear someone calling from above. With much effort, he looked up to find Namine and Riku a few storeys or so above. They were standing on what was remained of the spiral pathway. Zenith and Thyme were much closer. Namine looked shocked and worried of them and the state of the whole place. Roxas couldn't blame her. Countless molten rocks were stuck everywhere on the walls and the pathway. And half of that was in bits and pieces. They would have a lot trouble going back up the way they came.

The maintainers acted as though Namine and Riku weren't there. "Zen, you only have one brother you know," Thyme spoke to Zenith in a mild accusing tone.

"You know it was necessary," Zenith said plainly.

"I knew you'd say that," Thyme said with a sigh. "At least you can tell me before you use meteor next time." Having said that, he vanished.

Roxas was too experienced in battle to be taken off-guard. The moment he sensed movement on his left, he struck at it with his keyblade automatically. Although he didn't see, Roxas guessed Riku must have reacted in some way, because Zenith spoke as soon as Thyme moved. "Please don't interfere," she said solidly. At the same time, she was casting another meltdown at Sora.

"Roxas, Sora! Those people aren't our enemies!" Roxas heard Namine called. Perhaps she was right. The maintainers were doing what they think was right. Sora and him were doing what they think was right. Roxas dodged another strike from Thyme that missed him by a hair.

"His sword!" Namine exclaimed. "Roxas, all you see is not everything!"

Roxas was about to ask for clarification when Sora suddenly halted in mid-battle. His eyes were transfixed at the empty space in the middle of the spiral path.

"What's wrong, Sora?" Roxas asked.

Sora whispered. "The seal. It's here."

While no one was looking, Namine took out a sketchbook and some crayons she brought with her and began drawing. She had only just started when someone suddenly grabbed her wrist, causing the blue crayon to fall out of her hand. It was Thyme.

"Can't let you do that, princess of light," he said. Roxas caught a glimpse of her sketchbook. It looked like she was attempting to draw the maintainers. While restraining Namine, Thyme blocked Way to the Dawn from Riku with his other hand.

The distraction came at the perfect timing. "Sora!" Roxas yelled as he unleashed a combination attack on Zenith, forcing her to defend herself.

Immediately, Thyme rushed to aid her, but was caught up by a series of dark aura shots Riku fired at him.

Sora held his keyblade steadily as it revealed the last of the seven seals. Suspended in mid-air was a beautiful black gem that looked identical to the previous ones. The symbol heartless and nobodies rotated around it as two semi-transparent gold rings.

"No!! Flare!" Zenith cried out desperately. A red ball of immense energy hit Sora directly, sending him slamming against the side and he collapsed into a heap.

It was the only moment no one was focusing on Roxas. He jumped into mid air, looking at nothing but the seal. His keyblades sliced through it in criss-cross style. The last seals shattered into millions of sand-like pieces. Those pieces dissolved into thin air, leaving no traces behind.

A tremendous surge of magical energy was building around them, one even greater than meteor. The power is so great that the sensation by itself was making Roxas' skin prickle. A white energy orb appeared in the air, surrounded by numerous tiny green orbs. Another magic was being executed. And it didn't look friendly to Roxas. He looked around hastily for Sora and spotted his unmoving form on the opposite side of the circular path.

Strands of brilliant yellow light surged out from the white orb in the centre.

"No, Zen!!" Thyme shouted.

"Ultima!!!"

An enormous burst of green energy overflowed every single inch and every corner of the spiral pathway. Roxas reached Sora just as the entire pathway collapsed beneath them.

* * *

Author's note (or rants):One of the thing I find about Kingdom Hearts gameplay is that there is a lack of variety in magic. So in this chapter, I have used Final Fantasy 8 as reference for Zenith's magic.

For those who have been keeping up to date with KH2 Final Mix, you probably noticed I have used some of the places that appeared in the new cutscenes. Just to make it more interesting :3

This is the longest chapter I've ever written for a fanfic. My beta just beta-read over 4000 words...otsukare for checking this monster chapter! I thought about chopping it in half but decided against that.

**Please review review review! **


	7. Hiatus notice

**Hiatus Notice**

Sorry everyone, but this isn't a new chapter.

After considering this for a while, I have decided that I'm going to put End of Eternity on hiatus. That means I'll be putting this story on hold and won't be updating in some time, if ever.

Reason 1: I don't think anyone really cares about this story.

Reason 2: I've been really busy these days. I don't have so much time for myself. I do have a life other than writing fanfictions.

Reason 3: It's November and I would like to try out on NaNoWriMo and write my 50000 word novel. But because I've been so busy I haven't even had time to do that.

The last time I put a fanfic on hiatus, I never got back to writing it. I don't know the fate of this one yet (but it'll probably end up the same).

So, unless you can convince me what this story doesn't suck, I don't see it's worthwhile to spend my time on it anymore.

Oh yeah, and tell me not to write sequel for fanfics ever again, ok?

P.S Thanks for those who have favourited and put this story on alert and wrote reviews.


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